Professor John Wiggers

Career Summary

Biography

Since completion of my PhD in 1997, the University of Newcastle has had an agreement with the Hunter New England Health Service whereby I contribute to the latter organisations delivery of population health services. In this context I have extended my state, national and international reputation for population health research, particularly in the area of re-orientating health and other agencies towards the adoption of policies and practices that have a disease prevention and health risk reduction focus. This work has primarily involved research in changing the service delivery practices of agencies with regard to the prevention of obesity, and to reducing alcohol and tobacco related harms.

Aim: The present study aimed to: (i) document the role of parents in children's fast food meal selection; (ii) determine whether parental demographics, weight status or fast food consumption frequency were associated with who selects children's fast food meals; and (iii) determine whether the total energy content of children's meals selected from a hypothetical fast food menu was associated with selection responsibility. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 477 parents of children aged 3-12 years in New South Wales, Australia, was conducted. Participants completed two computer-assisted telephone interviews. The first collected demographic and anthropometric data including height and weight. Participants were subsequently mailed a hypothetical fast food menu. The second interview asked who was responsible for selecting their children's fast food meals, and what items would be chosen. Energy content of the selections was examined. Results: Most parents (60%) stated that they shared meal selection responsibility with their children. Parents with higher education levels (P < 0.01) or younger children (P < 0.01) were more likely to take responsibility for meal selection. When parents stated that children were responsible, they chose fast food meals with significantly higher energy content than when responsibility was shared (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The present study shows that parents are influential in children's fast food intake. Parents should be encouraged to play an active role in assisting children to make healthier fast food choices, to reduce the impact of high-energy meals on their overall diets.

Despite significant investment in many countries, the extent of schools' adoption of obesity prevention policies and practices has not been widely reported. The aims of this artic... [more]

Despite significant investment in many countries, the extent of schools' adoption of obesity prevention policies and practices has not been widely reported. The aims of this article are to describe Australian schools' adoption of healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices over an 8-year period and to determine if their adoption varies according to schools' size, geographic or socio-economic location. Between 2006 and 2013, a representative randomly selected cohort of primary schools (n = 476) in New South Wales, Australia, participated in four telephone interviews. Repeated measures logistic regression analyses using a Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) framework were undertaken to assess change over time. The prevalence of all four of the healthy eating practices and one physical activity practice significantly increased, while the prevalence of one physical activity practice significantly decreased. The adoption of practices did not differ by school characteristics. Government investment can equitably enhance school adoption of some obesity prevention policies and practices on a jurisdiction-wide basis. Additional and/or different implementation strategies may be required to facilitate greater adoption of physical activity practices. Ongoing monitoring of school adoption of school policies and practices is needed to ensure the intended benefits of government investment are achieved.

Issue addressed: Schools are recognised as important settings for promoting student and community wellbeing through education, policies and the modelling of behaviour. Recently, t... [more]

Issue addressed: Schools are recognised as important settings for promoting student and community wellbeing through education, policies and the modelling of behaviour. Recently, there has been controversy regarding the promotion and use of alcohol by adults at school events. The aim of this study was to examine the policy approach of all Australian jurisdictions to the possession and use of alcohol, by adults, at government school events when students are present. Methods: A desktop review of Australian governments' alcohol in schools policy/guidelines documents was undertaken. Results: Eighteen documents across eight jurisdictions were retrieved. There were inconsistencies between jurisdictions and lack of policy clarity regarding the promotion and/or use of alcohol by adults at events organised by schools for recreation, celebration and fundraising purposes. Discussion and conclusions: Clarity is needed about the role of alcohol in Australian schools, particularly in relation to its use of alcohol when there is a duty of care to children. The possession and/or use of alcohol by adults at school events may contribute to the pervasive role of drinking in Australian social life. So what?: Clear and evidence-based guidelines are needed to inform school policies across all jurisdictions as to whether, when and under which circumstances it is appropriate for schools to promote and/or supply alcohol. This would also strengthen the ability of school principals and communities to make appropriate evidence-based decisions that focus on the interests of children.

Objectives: Physical education (PE) plays an important role in contributing to students' physical activity (PA); however, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) within PE is lower than re... [more]

Objectives: Physical education (PE) plays an important role in contributing to students' physical activity (PA); however, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) within PE is lower than recommended. Little is known about the PA levels of students from disadvantaged schools within PE. This study aimed to describe: (i) the PA levels of students from disadvantaged secondary schools during PE lessons, (ii) the lesson context and teacher interactions occurring during PE, and (iii) the associations between teacher, school or PE lesson characteristics with student physical activity levels in PE.: Design: Cross-sectional study of 100 Grade 7 PE lessons across 10 secondary schools.: Methods: System for observing fitness instruction time (SOFIT) was used to assess student PA, lesson context, and teacher interaction. Teacher and school characteristics were collected via survey. Mean proportion of lesson time was used to describe PA, lesson context and teacher interaction. Associations between each outcome variable and each characteristic were examined using 2-sample t-tests, ANOVAs and linear regression.: Results: Thirty-nine percent of PE lesson was spent in MVPA, and less than 10% spent in VA. Lessons in schools in urban areas included significantly more MVPA than rural areas (P = 0.04). Male teachers and more experienced teachers conducted lessons with significantly more VA than female and less experienced teachers (P = 0.04 and 0.02). MVPA was also higher in lessons conducted by more experienced teachers.: Conclusion: PA during PE lessons within disadvantaged secondary schools is below international recommendations. Male teachers, more experienced teachers and schools in urban regions teach more active lessons.

Introduction: Persons with a mental disorder smoke at higher rates and suffer disproportionate tobacco-related burden compared with the general population. The aim of this study w... [more]

Introduction: Persons with a mental disorder smoke at higher rates and suffer disproportionate tobacco-related burden compared with the general population. The aim of this study was to determine if a smoking cessation intervention initiated during a psychiatric hospitalization and continued postdischarge was effective in reducing smoking behaviors among persons with a mental disorder. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at an Australian inpatient psychiatric facility. Participants were 205 patient smokers allocated to a treatment as usual control (n = 101) or a smoking cessation intervention (n = 104) incorporating psychosocial and pharmacological support for 4 months postdischarge. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 1 week, 2, 4, and 6 months postdischarge and included abstinence from cigarettes, quit attempts, daily cigarette consumption, and nicotine dependence. Results: Rates of continuous and 7-day point prevalence abstinence did not differ between treatment conditions at the 6-month follow-up; however, point prevalence abstinence was significantly higher for intervention (11.5%) compared with control (2%) participants at 4 months (OR = 6.46, p = .01). Participants in the intervention condition reported significantly more quit attempts (F[1, 202.5] = 15.23, p = .0001), lower daily cigarette consumption (F[4, 586] = 6.5, p < .001), and lower levels of nicotine dependence (F[3, 406] = 8.5, p < .0001) compared with controls at all follow-up assessments. Conclusions: Postdischarge cessation support was effective in encouraging quit attempts and reducing cigarette consumption up to 6 months postdischarge. Additional support strategies are required to facilitate longer-term cessation benefits for smokers with a mental disorder.

Objective: The study assessed the association of supportive clinical systems and procedures with smoking cessation care at community mental health centers. Methods: Managers (N584) of community mental health centers in New South Wales, Australia, were asked to complete a survey during 2009 about smoking cessation care. Results: Of the 79 managers who responded, 56% reported that the centers assessed smoking for over 60% of clients, and 34% reported that more than 60% of clients received minimum acceptable smoking cessation care. They reported the use of guidelines and protocols (34%), the use of forms to record smoking status (65%), and the practice of always enforcing smoking bans (52%). Minimum acceptable smoking cessation care was associated with encouraging nicotine replacement therapy for staff who smoke (odds ratio [OR]59.42), using forms for recording smoking status (OR55.80), and always enforcing smoking bans (OR53.82). Conclusions: Smoking cessation care was suboptimal, and additional supportive systems and procedures are required to increase its delivery.

Objective To determine the impact of an implementation intervention designed to introduce policies and practices supportive of healthy eating in centre-based child-care services. ... [more]

Objective To determine the impact of an implementation intervention designed to introduce policies and practices supportive of healthy eating in centre-based child-care services. Intervention strategies included staff training, resources, incentives, follow-up support, and performance monitoring and feedback. Design A quasi-experimental design was used to assess change over 20 months in healthy eating policy and practice in intervention and comparison child-care services. Setting The Hunter New England (HNE) region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Subjects All centre-based child-care services (n 287) in the intervention region (HNE) were invited and 240 (91% response rate) participated. Two hundred and ninety-six services in the rest of NSW were randomly selected as a comparison region and 191 participated (76% response rate). A sub-analysis was conducted on those services that provided children food (n 196 at baseline and n 190 at follow-up). Ninety-six provided menus for analysis at baseline (HNE, n 36; NSW, n 50) and 102 provided menus at follow-up (HNE, n 50; NSW, n 52). Results Services in the intervention region were significantly more likely to provide only plain milk and water for children (P = 0Â·018) and to engage parents in nutrition policy or programmes (P = 0Â·002). They were also more likely (P = 0Â·056) to have nutrition policy on home packed food. In addition, menus of services that provided lunch were significantly more likely to comply with healthy eating guidelines for sweetened drinks (P < 0Â·001), fruit (P < 0Â·001) and vegetables (P = 0Â·01). Conclusions An implementation intervention was able to modify policy and practice in a large number of child-care services so that they were more supportive of healthy eating.

Rowe SC, Wiggers JH, Kingsland M, Nicholas C, Wolfenden L, 'Alcohol consumption and intoxication among people involved in police-recorded incidents of violence and disorder in non-metropolitan New South Wales', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36 33-40 (2012) [C1]

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to measure knowledge about the symptoms, prevalence and natural history of stroke; the level of concern about having a stroke; understanding o... [more]

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to measure knowledge about the symptoms, prevalence and natural history of stroke; the level of concern about having a stroke; understanding of the possibilities for preventing stroke, and the relationship between age, sex, country of origin, educational level, income, self-reported risk factors, and the above factors. METHODS: A random sample of households was selected from an electronic telephone directory in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales, Australia, between 10 September and 13 October 1999. Within each household the person who was between 18 and 80 years of age and who had the next birthday was eligible to participate in the study (1325 households were eligible). The response rate was 62%. RESULTS: The most common symptoms of stroke listed by respondents were "Sudden difficulty of speaking, understanding or reading" identified by 60.1% of the respondents, and "paralysis on one side of body" identified by 42.0% of the respondents. The level of knowledge of the prevalence of a stroke, full recovery after the stroke, and death from stroke was low and generally overestimated. 69.9% of the respondents considered strokes as being either moderately or totally preventable. There were few predictors of knowledge. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that educational strategies may be required to improve knowledge about a wide range of issues concerning stroke in the community, as a prelude to developing preventive programmes.

Citations

Scopus - 2

2000

Wiggers JH, Considine RJ, Daly J, Hazell T, 'Prevalence and acceptability of public health initiatives in licensed premises', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 24(3) 320-322 (2000) [C1]

Citations

Scopus - 8Web of Science - 8

2000

Warner-Smith M, Wiggers JH, Considine RJ, Knight JJ, 'Dissemination of responsible service of alcohol initiatives to rugby league clubs', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 24(3) 312-315 (2000) [C1]

Evaluating the Efficacy of an Integrated Smoking Cessation Intervention for Mental Health Patients: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Psychology, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyCo-Supervisor

2011

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Clinical Practice Change Intervention in Increasing the Provision of Preventive Care in Community Mental Health ServicesPsychology, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyCo-Supervisor

2010

Effectiveness of a Resilience Intervention in Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use Among Secondary School StudentsBehavioural Science, Faculty of Health and MedicineCo-Supervisor

2010

A Comprehensive Accreditation Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Consumption at Community Sports ClubsBehavioural Science, Faculty of Health and MedicinePrincipal Supervisor

Towards the Implementation of a Problem-Oriented Policing Approach to Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm Associated With Licensed Premises: Challenges and OpportunitiesBehavioural Science, Faculty of Health and MedicineSole Supervisor

2012

The Food and Nutrient Intake and Physical Activity of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Non-Indigenous Rural ChildrenBehavioural Science, Faculty of Health and MedicinePrincipal Supervisor

2012

Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in an Australian PopulationPublic Health, Faculty of Health and MedicinePrincipal Supervisor

Research Collaborations

The map is a representation of a researchers co-authorship with collaborators across the globe. The map displays the number of publications against a country, where there is at least one co-author based in that country. Data is sourced from the University of Newcastle research publication management system (NURO) and may not fully represent the authors complete body of work.

A study concerning Creativity and Cultural Production in the Hunter Region was announced today as one of six University of Newcastle projects awarded highly prestigious Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grants worth a total of $1.8 million.

Professor John Wiggers

Position

ProfessorSchool of Medicine and Public HealthFaculty of Health and Medicine